Elderly residents still recall a biplane landing on the sands in front of the Atlantic Hotel in about 1912, and during the next twenty years or so there were occasional events of the kind, with demonstrations and joy-rides from outlying fields

But formal aviation activity dates from the decision of Weston-super-Mare Council in 1935 to found its own Airport, as a rival to the success of Whitchurch, where airlines using D.H. Dragons had recently begun to establish a profitable network of passenger routes. It was a good-sized airfield, but the facilities were arranged economically and notoriously the control tower (which survives near today's Helicopter Museum) was previously used to control the sea-front taxi services.

In 1936 the Airport opened and Western Air Transport founded by Norman Edgar, was attracted away from Whitchurch to hangars near the airport terminal at the East end of the airfield. Soon the shuttle service to Cardiff was drawing large numbers, especially on Sundays when the Welsh pubs were all closed.

However it was the second world war that was to put Weston-super-Mare truly on the aviation map, for firstly the RAF established an Elementary Flying Training School, and then the EFTS, needing more landing facilities, established a Reserve Landing Ground on 14 acres at Broadfield Down near Lulsgate, This was the beginning of the present Bristol International Airport.

Secondly, Bristol Aeroplane Company moved into two shadow factories, one at Old Mixon on the western boundary of the Airport, the other at Banwell, a mile away from the boundary but accessible via the main A368 road to Banwell village, which was widened to allow aircraft to be moved along it. Nearby also was begun RAF Locking, a radio and radar school.

The factories built and repaired thousands of Beaufort and Beaufighter aircraft, and also a small number of Hawker Tempests, and the RAF ran an acceptance facility in a hangar to the north side of the rumway. After the war Bristol Aeroplane Co transferred assembly of the Bristol Freighter from Filton to the Western Air Transport hangar, which later also handled modifications to Bristol Britannia transports. The Bristol helicopter division moved to Old Mixon. The RAF acceptance hangar was used by EMI for military work. It was even considered to build the new longer runway for the Brabazon project, but this decision went in favour of Filton.

The Banwell factory became the centre for design and development of rocket motors for the new guided missiles, in a joint venture with the USA known as Bristol-Aerojet, and for a time 800 were employed.

In the 1960s a government-sponsored reorganisation led to all helicopter work coming under the comtrol of Westland Aircraft of Yeovil, though maintenance and repair work continued at Old Mixon until the 1980s. With the NoD decision that the RAF would not require any more heavy-lift helicopters (i.e. developments of the Belvedere) and with the end of Bristol Freighter production, aircraft manufacture in Weston super Mare died away. The airfield gradually ran down and the tarmac runway became unusable due to oxidation. As the cold war ended in the 1980s the Banwell factory too lost its business and was closed apart from some small-scale research. For a few years the Bristol Aero Collection museum occupied one of the main buildings, but in 1995 planning permission was given for housing development and the factory was demolished, the museum moving to RAF Kemble.

However in contrast to this decline, the Helicopter Museum (see below) went from strength to strength and now most of its exhibits are in new hangars. Each summer a dramatic display of helicopters from around the world is given on the sea-front lawns, as a fund-raising event for the Museum.

The Helicopter Museum, Weston super Mare, Somerset

Sited on the Weston super Mare to Banwell road at the east end of the currently disused Weston Airport runway, this is Europe's (and maybe the world's) largest collection of helicopters, and includes three Bristol Sycamore helicopters built under the leadership of Raoul Hafner, a Sycamore Mk 3 and Mk 14, a Belvedere, and also the Hafner Revoplane 2 of 1932, arguably the first practical helicopter to fly.

For access information, opening times and prices click on heading above.